Last month, 14 Democrat senators from Wisconsin fled to Illinois in an attempt to hinder the vote on a bill that would reduce Wisconsin’s $3 billion deficit. This would require public employees to pay a mere 5.8% towards their pension and 12.6% towards their health insurance premiums.
According to Wisconsin law, three-fifths of the Senate must be present in order to pass a bill that “imposes, continues or renews a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or renews an appropriation of public or trust money, or releases, discharges or commutes a claim or demand of the state.” Because these senators refused to show up and vote for the original budget bill, Governor Walker took a backdoor approach, encouraging the lawmakers to, instead, take away state workers’ bargaining rights after the state capitol erupted into a frenzy of demonstrations that continued for over a month. The original bill was eventually discovered to be exempt from the three-fifths quorum because it technically didn’t make an “appropriation.” The newly-approved plan shaves off $165 million from Wisconsin’s $3 billion annual deficit and was passed easily by the Republican majority in the Senate.
The situation in Wisconsin gathered national attention when celebrities, such as Michael Moore, encouraged union workers from across the country to protest in Wisconsin’s state capitol. As a result, it was estimated that only about half of the protestors were actually from Wisconsin. The essence of this new Wisconsin law stipulates that public employees, supported by tax money, should not be allowed to strike against the very people that pay their salaries- the citizens.
Many union supporters have accused the Wisconsin Republicans of somehow “silencing” the minority and “destroying” democracy through the passing of such a bill, when in fact, it is the 14 Democrats who fled the state that should be viewed as obstructing democracy. They were halting the vote on a bill merely because they knew it would be passed by the Republican majority. These 14 senators were attempting to cripple a system of government that operates through the will of the majority.
Perhaps the real problem causing this situation is that only 48% of registered voters chose to participate in the congressional elections back in November. This country’s democratic process only works if the people show up to the polls to vote. We must remember that the only difference between a dictatorship and a democracy is this exercised right.